


Double-edged Sword

by Foodisawesome



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Hints at Pre-Kerberos Sheith, I have no idea what else to tag this with, M/M, Post Season 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-05
Updated: 2017-03-05
Packaged: 2018-09-28 09:43:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10088084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Foodisawesome/pseuds/Foodisawesome
Summary: Shiro once told him that the suit made the wearer see their greatest wants and fears.Keith knew what he wanted to see.(Shiro is still missing, and Keith still has the suit he got from the Blade of Marmora)





	

**Author's Note:**

> I've never written a fic before but this idea got into my head and I just couldn't let it go so here we are ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

Keith walked over and looked at himself in the mirror. His room was dark and the lights were off. The only reason he could really see himself was because of the soft purple glow of the blade suit. He could just barely make out the dark circles beneath his eyes, the tiredness worn into his face from the past week of constant searching for someone. 

He sighed and stalked over to his bed, sitting on the edge. He remained there in silence for a few moments, tightly gripping the sheets, anticipating what was to come. His foot tapped on the floor, anxiousness running through his veins. Seconds passed by. Then minutes. Still nothing. Nothing was happening. He was staring into the darkness, searching for something that wasn't there. How did this even work? Was it only supposed to happen after being beaten half to death? That would be messed up. Maybe he just needed to focus harder.

Keith closed his eyes and tried to balance his shallow breathing. He focused on a warm grey sky and a comforting embrace. He focused on the relief he felt after he came crashing back into his life. He tried to remember how safe he would feel whenever he was around, but he couldn't now when all he felt was desperation and loneliness. 

All of these emotions and thoughts shuffled through his mind until he let out a deep breath and they settled into one single entity.

Shiro once told him that the suit made the wearer see their greatest wants and fears.

Keith knew what he wanted to see.

He opened his eyes.

Shiro was standing on the other side of the room, leaning against the wall. Keith’s eyes widened as his breath caught in his throat. It worked. He looked just as he remembered, but this time instead of wearing his paladin armor, he was in his regular clothes. His white tuft of hair was still falling in front of his face, the scar on his nose still managing to make him look older than he really was. His Galra arm reflected the purple light illuminating off of Keith's suit. His eyes had a somber look in them, but they were still as warm as ever.

Keith just stared at him, unsure of what to do, to say, if he should even say anything at all. He almost didn't expect this to work. The silence stretched on. Keith expected to feel better, but now he really didn't know how to feel. This was what he wanted and yet…it somehow wasn't enough.

Then, without a word, Shiro pushed away from the wall and slowly made his way across the room. Keith held his breath. Shiro stopped just within arms reach and kneeled down in front of him. They were now face to face as Keith stared into familiar grey eyes.

Without thinking, Keith raised his hand and slowly began to reach out towards Shiro, but he quickly realized what he was doing and froze in place.

His hand hovered between them instead, flinching back and forth with uncertainty. Why reach out? Why stop? This was what he wanted, wasn't it? To see Shiro again?  
Well...maybe that wasn't all he wanted.

He knew that this Shiro would feel real like at the trials, a solid weight beneath his fingertips unlike other illusions he had seen that flickered and disappeared with a single touch. He knew that it would feel like it was really Shiro right here in front of him, with his calm voice and reassuring presence, instead of some weird concoction made up from the alien magic in his suit and his own imagination. He knew that once he touched him...he wouldn't want to believe that he wasn't actually there.

And that was what scared him. Keith had put the suit on with the intention of just being able to see him one more time. He had hoped the sight would give him some semblance of... hope? A brief sense of relief? Maybe he just wanted the chance to feel something other than helplessness and fear for more than two seconds.

But that didn’t matter anymore. Just seeing him wasn't enough. That plan was forgotten the longer he stared at this illusion…fantasy…whatever the hell this was. Keith clenched his hands. He knew that none of this was real. He knew this. But it didn’t change the fact that he desperately wanted it to be. More than anything, he just wanted for this to be real, for Shiro to hold him and tell him that everything was going to be okay, for Shiro to be here, safe with Keith instead of lost and alone god knows where. 

Ugh, maybe this was a bad idea. Frustrated, he squeezed his eyes shut and furrowed his eyebrows, trying to calm his racing thoughts. 

This Shiro seemed to be able to tell what he was thinking, much like the real one, and apparently decided to make the first move, calmly reaching out and taking Keith’s shaking, outstretched hand between his own two. The sudden contact caused Keith’s eyes to snap open. He glanced up and saw Shiro looking at him with a soft gaze and a small smile tugging at the edge of his lips.

“Hey, it's okay, I'm right here,” he whispered, gentle and sweet, just like he always did when they were alone together. Keith could feel the cool metal of the Galra arm on his hand through the fabric of the suit. He felt himself relax against the touch. Shiro then brought his hand towards himself and Keith felt the faint press of lips against his fingertips. The familiarity of it all made his eyes burn.

Real. 

Not real. 

A sad smile made its way onto Keith's face despite everything.

Maybe the universe could let him pretend for just a few more moments. 

He pulled his hand back and lunged at Shiro, wrapping his arms around him and burying his face into his neck. It knocked Shiro back a bit but he remained upright, supporting Keith like he always had and keeping him from falling off the edge of the bed. He quickly returned the gesture and curled his arms around Keith's back, one of his hands weaving its way into his hair.

“I miss you,” Keith let the words escape his lips with a shudder. If it wasn't so quiet in the dark room and if they weren't so close, he's pretty sure Shiro would've never heard him. But he did.

“I know.” he heard Shiro calmly reply.

“I wish you were here.” He confessed and after a slight pause let out a softer “with me.” 

He felt Shiro tighten his hold. 

“I know.”

They remained like that for a long time, just holding each other. 

Soon, Keith pulled back a bit and pushed at Shiro's shoulders, wanting to look him in the face. Shiro felt his soft pull and let his arms fall to his side, letting him go.

“Please, stop leaving me behind.” His purple gaze flickered down and then gravitated back towards Shiro’s. “It's kind of getting old,” Keith let out a huff, almost as if trying to make light of the situation, probably to make it all hurt less, but his expression was still pained and his eyes still so tired.

Shiro's eyes lowered and he looked almost as hurt as Keith by the situation. “You know I can't -”

“Please.” Keith abruptly said. “I know, but...just...” He closed his eyes. He was at a loss for words. He didn't know what he wanted to hear. He knew that Shiro couldn't help any of this, that none of this was his fault, but it still hurt.

While his eyes were still closed, he felt warm fingers intertwine with his own and then a kiss being pressed to his forehead.

“I'll come back. I promise,” he heard Shiro’s voice mutter against his skin.

Keith opened his eyes as he pulled back and saw Shiro looking back at him with an open expression filled with unbridled affection. The sight made Keith’s breath stop and his face grow warm. He looked so much like before...

He felt the cold sting of metal as Shiro brought his hand up and cupped his cheek. Keith leaned into the the touch, bringing up his own hand and placing it over his. Shiro leaned in closer until their faces were only a few inches apart. They were so close Keith could see purple light reflect off the grey of Shiro's hooded eyes.

“I’ll always come back to you,” he promised as he held his gaze.

Memories of a similar scene flashed through Keith’s head, except instead of being in a dark room of a flying castle ship, they were on a roof under the stars with the desert sprawled in front of them as the time they could spend together grew shorter and shorter. 

Keith closed his eyes as Shiro leaned in closer, anticipating the feeling of lips on his own.

Except it never came.

There was nothing.

The feeling of hands between his fingers and against his cheek was gone, leaving a soft tingle against his skin.

His eyes flashed open and Keith was faced with only darkness. The harsh reality of everything flooded back into his mind.

His head fell as he clenched his hands and pressed them against his legs. He stared with blurred vision at his trembling fists, at the purple of the Galra suit that grew darker as the tears fell from his face and onto the fabric. 

It was a double-edged sword, and Keith let himself get cut by it. He knew what it would eventually show him, he knew what would happen in the end, and yet he still wasn't ready, wasn't prepared for it to be over. 

He realized that he never would be.

Keith leaned over and wrapped his arms around himself to try and stop the shaking. Any broken sobs that escaped his lips was left to fall on ears that were no longer there to hear them.

**Author's Note:**

> :)


End file.
